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Senior home ministry official Radhe Shyam Sharma has murder on his hands. Seventy-five Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans, who were killed in the Maoist ambush in Dantewada district on April 6, could have possibly been saved had he not resorted to demanding bribes while acquiring 59,000 bulletproof jackets for India's paramilitary forces.

Sharma was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday on charges of demanding money from suppliers of bulletproof jackets and other modern equipment.

As a result of his corrupt practices, bulletproof jacket supplies that were to begin in October 2009, have been delayed for a year, during which the country's paramilitary forces would have to fight Maoists and other internal security battles without this vital piece of life-saving equipment.

The technical trials in this Rs 200 crore deal - tenders for which were floated in July 2009 - were scrapped by the home ministry in January this year after the company he was demanding money from - Noida-based Anjani Technoplast - turned a whistleblower in the case in October 2009 following alleged irregularities.

Even after re-trials were held in February, Sharma allegedly favoured Anjani Technoplast, even though the company had failed both the technical trials.

CBI spokesperson Harsh Bhal said, "The bulletproof jackets tender ran into controversies after allegations of manipulation and discriminatory trial of samples of certain participating private firms." He said this led to a re-evaluation of tenders and a re-trial of the sample bulletproof jackets. "Sharma leaked confidential data about the tenders and the trial process to a competing firm named Anjani Technoplast. Sharma had established an unauthorised contact with this firm and had been demanding and accepting illegal gratification in lieu of services and favours," he said.

Ironically, therefore, even if Anjani Technoplast turned whistleblower, its premises are being raided by the CBI. That's not the end of the Anjani saga. The Noidabased company had earlier supplied 20,000 bulletproof jackets in May 2009 to paramilitary forces on an urgent basis following the 26/ 11 terror attack. The CBI is now probing if Sharma had favoured this company then.

Home ministry studies show India's paramilitary forces face a shortage of 87,121 bulletproof jackets of which the CRPF alone accounts for 40,069 jackets.

The supply for the CRPF was vital given that a large number of its men operate in Maoist strongholds. In fact, a home ministry source said, only a few personnel of the 81- member patrol party involved in the Dantewada massacre had bulletproof jackets.

Now, thanks to this corruption scandal, the home ministry admits the supply of new jackets is "grossly delayed". Minister of state for home affairs M. Ramachandran said, "The reason for the shortfall in the bulletproof jackets is the delayed finalisation of the current tender initiated in July 2009." The elite National Security Guard (NSG), which played a key role in eliminating the 10 terrorists during the 26/ 11 attack, faces a shortage of 1,725 bulletproof jackets. An NSG source said around 1,200 commandos that have such jackets are posted in the anti-hijacking unit of the NSG and the Special Action Group, which deals with counter-terror operations.

"However, many other commandos and those in the Special Rangers Group, who protect VIPs, do not have bulletproof jackets," the source said.

Home ministry officials said the new jackets offer maximum body protection and weigh less than 6 kg, roughly half of what the current jackets weigh. The new jackets are also expected to stop bullets fired from a sub-machine gun or an AK series rifle.

Sources in the CBI said the arrested official, Sharma, had allegedly also approved the initial technical trials held last October before the home ministry scrapped them and took to task a Defence Research & Development Organisation ( DRDO) scientist, R. K. Verma for compromising the jackets' technical evaluation.

Verma was the head of a technical evaluation committee appointed by the DRDO to assess the efficacy of the to- be- acquired jackets.

Soon after, a departmental inquiry was initiated against Sharma when it was found that he had approved the results of the first trials.

After Anjani failed both the first as well as the second trials, Sharma allegedly was negotiating a deal with it to allow it to take part in another trial.

The CBI suspects Sharma's involvement and corruption in other deals to procure sophisticated security equipment after the 26/ 11 attacks. CBI spokesperson Bhal said: " Sharma had developed a nexus with certain private firms supplying security equipment such as armoured panels, bulletproof jackets, helmets, shields, etc. He was granting them undue favours."

CBI sources added that this scandal could lead to a review of many orders approved by Sharma in the past.

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